This Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken Is Better than Takeout

When a craving for cashew chicken hits, you probably call for takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant. But ordering in all the time can get expensive, which is why it’s good to have an easy recipe like this one in your back pocket. With a little foresight you can make this flavorful dish at home. All you need is a slow cooker and a few hours.

The key to getting slightly crispy chicken here is actually coating it in a mixture of cornstarch and black pepper and then quickly browning it in a skillet before adding it to your slow cooker. If this defeats the whole purpose of using a slow cooker for you (read: you don’t want to dirty another pan), the author notes you can skip this step.

Once your chicken is golden-brown, you add it to the slow cooker along with some sauce — a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes — and cook on low for three to four hours. If you don’t mind your cashews on the softer side, you can add them with the chicken in the beginning, but if you prefer a crunchier cashew, just add them right at the end.

Serve the cashew chicken over rice (white, brown, frozen, leftover, whatever you have!) and give yourself a pat on the back for this weeknight win.

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→ Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken from The Recipe Critic